Promise Me (21 page)

Not going to lie, I'm completely out of breath when all is said and done. But I smile to myself when I notice the time and see that I have about ten minutes to spare. So, I use that time to make his bed instead of snooping for clues about his secret life as a serial killer. Once I'm done, I head into his living room and plop myself down on the couch. After a few unsuccessful attempts at trying to decipher the remote control, I finally am able to get the television to turn on. I channel surf absentmindedly for a couple of minutes until settling on an episode of
I Love Lucy
. I'm in a full on belly laugh at Lucy and Ethel's bread making antics when the front door opens and Tyler walks in.

He's dressed casual with distressed jeans, a plain white t-shirt and still has his aviator sunglasses on which make him look even yummier than usual. Smiling as he tosses his keys onto the kitchen island, he lifts the sunglasses to rest on his head and strides towards me. He sits down at far end of the couch and keeps watching me while my laughing jag dies down.

"You're a Lucy fan," he says matter of fact.

"Yeah. I think I've seen every episode a hundred times, but it never gets old."

"My mom was a big Lucy fan too. One of my favorite memories of her was how she could make me shake with how hard she'd laugh while I would be sitting on her lap. It was like being on a ride in an amusement park."

I wipe the tears from laughter and instantly feel guilty. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

Tyler leans across the cushion that separates us and grips me at the waist. He lifts and drags me until I'm sitting in his lap and cradled in his arms.

"Don't be sorry," he says with a small smile playing on his lips, "It's a good memory."

I lean forward and press a kiss to his cheek before wrapping my arms around his neck to hug him.

"Thank you," my mouth now by his ear.

"For what?"

"For the beautiful flowers you left for me this morning," I clarify.

He nuzzles my neck as he says, "You're welcome, baby."

"How did you get them so early?"

His light laugh against my skin gives me the chills before he answers. "I know a guy."

Uh-oh. Here it comes… the secret life that I suspected. Because the only people who say 'I know a guy' in the movies, never turns out to be an actual good guy. My head perks up to look at him and ask the dreaded question that will burst my bubble.

"What do you mean, 'you know a guy'?"

"Yeah, I know a
guy
… a guy who owns a flower shop down the street."

"Oh," I say sheepishly.

God, I'm such a moron.

With an entertained look on his face, he shifts me on his lap and gently holds my chin with his fingers. "So, what do you want to do today?"

"Don't you have to go back to the restaurant later?"

"Nope," and kisses the tip of my nose, "I took the rest of the day off."

"I can't let you do that."

He drops his head back onto the couch while he gets a good chuckle out of what I just said. Surprisingly, I find him even more irresistible when he laughs.
Get your mind out of the gutter, Sabrina.

"What's so funny?"

"Baby, do you really think that on your last night here, I would want to go to work?"

"Well…"

"Well nothing," he says more seriously now. "You're leaving tomorrow so I'm going to spend as much time as possible with you. So, yeah… looks like you're stuck with me again."

My smile is back in full force. He rewards me by framing my face in his hands and gently pulling it closer to his. Tyler's mouth is so close to mine that I feel his breath against my lips when he says, "You're so fucking adorable, do you know that?"

Before I answer with a resounding, 'No, I didn't know that', he kisses me, rendering me speechless. When he breaks off the kiss, he asks me the same question as before.

"It's only fair since I got to pick yesterday's date, you get to pick today's. So, what'll it be?"

I know that I would have picked the museum, but he beat me to it yesterday. Instead, when I really think about how I want to spend the rest of my last night with him, the answer is simple.

"Nothing."

Tyler tilts his head and is about to say something, but I steal his move. I put my index finger to his mouth to shut
him
up this time. I feel his lips curl up into a grin against my index finger while he waits for me to explain.

"I mean, can we just do nothing specific. Kind of go with the flow and see where the day takes us… so long as the day ends with a cheese steak sandwich from Geno's. Deal?"

I lift my finger and wait for him to say something. After a couple of seconds his face turns serious. "It's a deal. But, there is no way in hell that you're getting me to do the Rocky steps."

I'm giggling when my lips graze against his to say, "Deal."

With a firm pact in place for no Rocky steps, we head out and spend the afternoon sightseeing around the Society Hill section of Philadelphia which is relatively close to Tyler's apartment. The weather is perfect. The company is perfect. Even the cheese steak is perfect. And more importantly, no sightings of a shoe dropping anywhere today… thank God.

The cool air on my back causes me to stir in my sleep as the sheet is dragged down against my skin. I hear Tyler's low chuckle when I stretch my arms above my head while lying on my stomach like a cat just waking up from a peaceful slumber. When I turn my head to face him, I feel his warm lips press softly in between my shoulder blades. He trails kisses down my spine and back up again while his hand fans out on my lower back and rubs small circles just above where the sheet meets my skin.

"Mmmmm," I manage as my body starts to respond to his delicate touch.

I open my eyes and peek through the hair that has fallen over my face to look at him lying on his side propping his head up with his hand. He smiles brightly and brings his hand up to brush away some of it off my cheek before bending his head down to place a kiss there.

"Good morning," he says in a husky voice.

Wanting to feel his warmth, I turn onto my side and nestle myself into his arms while he runs a hand through my hair lazily.

"Morning," I mumble into his neck.

"Sleep good?"

Not wanting to lift my head from the crook in his neck where I'm busy taking in his heavenly scent, I nod against his skin instead.

He moves me onto my back and stays propped up on his elbow as his tattooed arm rests atop my stomach. I reach out and trace the outline of the swirls with my finger wanting to memorize every detail of it while he looks on, amused at my determination.

"I must have thought about this hundreds of times," I say in almost a sigh when I reach his shoulder and make my way back to the black ink on his forearm.

He lifts his tattooed arm off my stomach and gently cups my face in his hand.

"And I've thought about
this
hundreds of times too," he says softly before placing a tender kiss on my lips.

I'm falling for him, I think to myself when he pulls himself away from my lips. I'm pretty sure I fell a long time ago and it scares me to death. He lives here and I live over a thousand miles away. How do I go back to what I knew before him… before all of this? I bite my lower lip in frustration as the thought of leaving him today starts to play out in my head. I've managed to maintain an arm's length in any relationship with a man since Chris. Yet, with Tyler, I've shown all my cards… well, not
all
of them. Yes, the imposed arm's length is mostly by design. But, he's different. He literally walked right back into my life as if he had never disappeared into the night ten years ago. He's turned my world upside down in a matter of days and I don't think my heart can take him walking away again.

"Is something wrong?" He asks with a concerned look in his eyes.

I'm afraid I'll scare him away, so I decide it's best not to share my deepest secrets yet. "Nothing's wrong, quite the opposite… everything is great."

"Are you sure?"

He turns his hand over to run the back of his fingers softly against my cheek then gives me a feather light kiss on my forehead.

"Absolutely sure," I answer with an easy smile.

"Are you hungry? How about some breakfast?" He asks. Which is perfect timing since I think my stomach may start grumbling loudly in a second.

"That would be perfect."

Tyler quickly kisses me again then tosses the sheet off of him and he rolls off of the bed. Sweet Jesus. His entire body and all its naked glory is on full display in broad daylight as he stalks over to his dresser to pull out a pair of beat up black sweatpants and slips them on. They hang low on his waist, accentuating the "V" of his hip bone, making my mouth almost water on sight. He comes back over to me as he runs his hands through his mussed hair and I sit up when he bends to kiss me on my forehead.

"I'll come get you when it's ready. Lie back down, beautiful."

"Okay."

I stare in the direction of the door he just walked out of and then fall back onto the bed flailing my arms and legs against the mattress as if I was a little kid waking up on Christmas morning. Now that I've gotten that completely out of my system, there is no way in hell I'm staying in here. I toss the sheet aside and scan the room for my overnight bag when I hear The Black Keys start playing in the background. My eyes zero in on his white t-shirt lying on the floor from last night and I quickly throw it on. I stop in the bathroom first for a few minutes to freshen up before making my way down the hall to him.

Tyler's bare back is to me when I go to sit on one of the stools around his kitchen island and watch him for a few seconds prepare our food. From what I can tell, pancakes are in my near future. I
sooo
could get use to this.

"That's one of my favorite songs by them."

He turns his head around at the sound of my voice and flashes me a disappointed look.

"You're ruining my surprise," he says.

My brow furrows in confusion before he turns completely around and comes over to where I'm sitting. He swivels my seat and positions himself in between my legs and starts to kiss my neck.

"How am I supposed to make you breakfast in bed if you don't stay in bed?"

"Oh, I didn't know," I stammer as his hands run up my bare thighs until he reaches my hips and freezes.

"You're not wearing anything underneath this shirt, are you," he whispers and runs his nose along my jaw.

I shake my head and shift in my seat while he grips my hips tighter.

"We'll eat first, but after that, I cannot be held liable for my actions," he warns and I raise an eyebrow at him.

"Is that a promise or a threat?"

When he lifts his head he flashes me that sexy grin of his that makes me blush. "Both."

Turning my seat back around as visions of what "both" could be dance around my head like sugar plums, he goes back to preparing our breakfast. When he's done he places a stack of fluffy pancakes in front of me and takes the empty seat to my left with a plate of his own. Grabbing the maple syrup that he had previously left on the counter, I pour an obscene amount over mine and hear him laughing at my side.

"What's so funny?"

He has a forkful of pancakes perched just in front of his mouth still laughing at me. "Nothing at all. It's just I've never seen anyone pour that much syrup over their pancakes."

"Well, what can I say? I like mine sticky sweet."

He takes another bite of food and says, "Didn't peg you for a Def Leppard fan."

Now it's my turn to laugh. "Very funny, and I hate to disappoint you but no, I'm not a fan of Def Leppard. Are you?"

"Not particularly. The hair band scene was kind of before my time."

"Well then, who's your favorite band?"

"The Black Keys. You?"

"The Strokes."

"Who's your favorite singer?"

"Johnny Cash. You?"

"Alicia Keys."